Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-231971 discloses in FIGS. 1 and 2, an electrical connector which is utilized to connect Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC's). This connector comprises a pair of connector halves wherein, one connector half is positioned over a circuit board, and other over the FPC. A shell which acts as a shield member is mounted on the exterior of each of the connector halves. A grounding conductor of the FPC is connected to the shell of the FPC side connector half.
In the known FPC connector, the shells are mounted on the exteriors of housings having predetermined shapes, thereby being built in to the connector. Accordingly, the shielding properties are stable. If such a connector is equipped with a openable/closable locking member, for connecting to a FPC or a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC), the locking member temporarily protrudes outward from housing when opened. Therefore, a shell such as that disclosed in the known FPC connector cannot be employed in a connector equipped with a locking member. Without a shell mounted on the exteriors of housings, problems arise in that spurious electromagnetic radiation being emitted from the connector itself, and external electromagnetic interference (EMI) are allowed to interfere with the electrical signals passing through the connector.